John Deere Road Corridor Improvements

Background

Dubuque County sought to reduce accidents, decrease traffic delays, boost freight mobility, and support expansion along John Deere Road. The roadway, which provides access to the John Deere Dubuque Works factory, had safety concerns due to intersection geometry, obstructed sight distance, traffic peaking factors, and high speeds. Foth was tasked with redesigning a portion of the corridor that sees a unique blend of large specialty trucks from factory shift changes. The project received a BUILD grant to assist with multimodal improvements.

Approach

Our team worked with Dubuque County, the City of Dubuque, the Iowa DOT, and John Deere to assess multiple intersection treatment types, deciding on a final concept with two single-lane roundabouts. Ultimately, use of unique geometric design elements were dictated by traffic patterns and specialty truck traffic. Working closely with the DNR to mitigate flood plain impacts, a new multiuse trail was added to provide connectivity to the local Heritage Trail system. Our team also worked diligently with the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Transportation Study team to assist with meeting funding requirements, as well as with all stakeholders to identify a design alternative that best met the project’s goals and set the corridor up for future growth.

Proactive coordination with private utilities was key in order to schedule relocations prior to construction, reducing the risk of potential delays. Additionally, our team oversaw the permitting process and NEPA environmental coordination.

Results

Final design included two three-leg roundabouts designed to allow better intersection navigation of oversized vehicles specific to John Deere. Based on extensive modeling to analyze shift-change traffic patterns at the plant, the roundabouts include a combination of two-lane and single-lane entries, as well as bypass lanes. Bicycle and pedestrian connectivity improvements Improved safety and multimodal accommodations The project was let in February 2022 and construction is scheduled for completion in 2023.